Please explain to me who can afford Assisted Living? My mom’s net income is $4,800 per month.

Give us old people a pill to take when we have had enough!

I'm sorry you're going through this. I had the same question. My mother is in assisted living and the bill is close to 6,000 a month. Her social security (2,000) and retirement check (2,000), plus money from selling her house, will pay for another 4 years. After the house-sale money runs out, my salary will have to pay over 2,000 a month to keep her there. Thank God my husband's paycheck can support me and him. The financial side of elder care is a STRAIN. But I've told my husband I'll work two jobs if I have to, just to keep from moving her into our house. I'm 55.
I tell people all the time now, "SAVE MONEY FOR YOUR OWN ASSISTED LIVING. Stop buying things. Get rid of those TV packages. You don't need a nice car or the newest phone or more clothes...you need $500,000 in a savings plan."

As my brother said many times - when it comes to assisted living, it is best to either be very rich or very poor. The people in the middle are pretty much screwed.

$4900 a month is quite a lot compared to.what many non-Medicaid - eligible people have coming in.

You look into placement in:
- board and care home. Will be way less than a NH and probably at the lower end of day rate for what AL do in your region.

- congregate living type of facility run by a nonprofit. These are usually a division of a religious organization. Like Catholic Charities or JFS or Methodist Ministries

-section 202 housing, this is low income senior only housing. Kinda like Section 8 housing but the property is seniors only. Most have supportive services (meals, transpo, wellness cks) that tie into other “at need” programs. They will have to go through the documentation process to show “need”.

- if your area does PACE, get them on their list to have an assessment (of health care need) done and then onto the PACE system. I personally am not a fan of PACE, but for those who have parents of limited means who live with them or vice versa, their folks both going onto PACE could be the bandaid till they enter a NH.

all of these have an application and a process to show eligibility. And a waiting list. There is no placement manana anywhere unless you have significant assets to hand over 3 months worth of private pay to a facility. Or they are currently in a hospital and being discharged from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation as all this is a Medicare health insurance benefit. That flat is what it is. So get your folks applications done and get them on lists. If you are rural, go beyond your county.

I feel you and totally agree. My (95 yo) Mom's net income is only $2000/mo! She lives with me, and I pay over $1500/mo for 3 gals to come in and help her out for a few hours each day in order to keep my sanity. I still have to work even though I should be retired (UGH). These Assisted Living places are making a killing at the expense of the elderly - no way we could afford to put her in one.

Then why do they force us to live so long with no quality of life? I will tell you why THE MONEY GRAB until you eventually die. Most average Americans can't afford the cost of assisted living so give us the pill!

I am so sorry you are experiencing this. There are many answers in this forum that definitely don't think assisted living is no big deal. My sister and I are very lucky that my parents bought a long term care policy back in the 80s that never runs out. They don't sell those types of policies today. Most only cover around three years of assisted living. Mom is 98, in the last stages of Alzheimers disease, and has been in assisted living/memory care for six years. One of the responders below is correct that most AL facilities are run by corporations out to make a buck. I have a friend who is in a group home due to developing Parkinson's disease related dementia. His care is far better than my mother is receiving, even with all her resources. You might find a group home a much better choice, but doing research and visiting is your most informative course. Our country neither supports the aged, nor the young, and our social safety net is a joke compared to other industrialized nations. I'm sure this doesn't help you much to know, but I hope you understand that many folks here have faced your challenges. Research the forum and find answers that fit your economic situation.

North Carolina, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico might be cheaper. It’s unfortunate that middle class people will have the most difficulty finding a memory care facility.

People who can afford it get the assisted living.
Those who can't, stay home now and end up in nursing home. Her income may not even be enough for NH, but state Medicaid is very likely to cover the difference.
If there's a chance of using Medicaid, keep records of expenses she pays that, don't give her home to any family member or sell below value. Don't do gifting to others. Those things create penalty periods for Medicaid to start. Medicaid looks back 5 yrs in most states.